MoneyGram International Inc. shares fell more than 8% late Tuesday after the Texas-based money transfer company and Ant Financial Services group, an affiliate of China-based Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. , said they have agreed to end their merger agreement after months of wrangling with the U.S. government. The companies couldn’t obtain approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment, MoneyGram said in a statement. They plan to work together “on new strategic initiatives” around remittances and digital payments in Asian markets after the deal didn’t materialize, they said. “Despite our best efforts to work cooperatively with the U.S. government, it has now become clear that CFIUS will not approve this merger. We are disappointed in the termination of this compelling transaction, which would have created significant value for our stakeholders,” MoneyGram Chief Executive Alex Holmes said in the statement. Ant Financial in April upped the deal to buy MoneyGram to $18 a share, after a competitor came in with an unsolicited offer in the increasingly politicized takeover battle. The potential deal was first announced in January 2016. American depositary shares of Alibaba were flat late Tuesday, after ending the regular session up 6.5%. MoneyGram stock ended Tuesday’s trading 1% higher.
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